1. Field of the Art
The subject machine is in the general field of automatic washing machines, automatic machines for washing motor vehicles being a most common example. More specifically, however, it is in the field of apparatus for washing hand-held objects, such as drinking glasses, dishes and cooking utensils. Still more specifically it is in the field of apparatus for cleaning the heads of golf clubs.
2. Prior Art
A preliminary search of the prior art in this particular field shows that the problems with hand cleaning of club heads have been recognized for years, as evidenced by the following list of U.S. Patents, all relating to golf club head cleaning machines and similar apparatus. All the machines use power driven rotary brushes, singly or in cooperating pairs along with cleaning solutions and the apparatus needed for applying, retrieving, cleaning it etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,534 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,315 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,619,841 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,332,099 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,148,396
In spite of the long recognized problem and the known efforts to solve it, there is no known commercially successful machine for cleaning the heads of golf clubs. Such washing is almost universally done by hand, even though apparatus such as that shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,619,841 and 3,872,534 has been known for some time. It must be concluded that for some combination of reasons the patented apparatus has been found not competitive with hand washing. It is believed that the primary reasons include a requirement for development of special techniques and skills in using the apparatus in order to get satisfactory results and, even with skillful use of proper techniques, the time required per club and the costs of operation, including maintenance costs, proved to be higher than expected, with the result that the apparatus has not found common usage.
Therefore, a first objective of the subject invention was the provision of golf club head cleaning apparatus capable of using simple, relatively self evident techniques; that is, without requirement for special and time consuming techniques to achieve satisfactory results. Further, a further objective was the apparatus be economical to make, use and maintain compared to prior art apparatus. As is well known in the art, two of the keys to economical manufacture, usage and maintenance are simplicity and durability of the apparatus by virtue of its basic design.
A further objective was that the operation not result in degradation of the golf clubs, taking into account the more recent manufacture and assembly features of golf clubs, notably the practice of using a close fit between the head and shaft along with bonding to attach the head to the shaft of the club, rather than using rivets, pins and the like. In more detail, this objective involves minimizing heating of and/or loads applied at the attachment of the head to the shaft.
Another objective was to provide the capability to accomodate left handed as well as right handed clubs, as well as to specifically allow for the unique differences between woods and irons. Still another objective was that the apparatus be self contained to the extent that dirt and debris removed from the clubs and the cleaning fluids used do not soil or contaminate the user or the immediate environment of the apparatus.
Still another important objective of the invention was that it be efficient in terms of the time and effort required per head cleaned.
The following Summary Of The Invention, the Detailed Description Of The Invention and the related Drawings describe a preferred embodiment of the invention and how it meets the stated objectives.